Bloody attack highlights tension between Israel, Syria

October 15, 1995
Web posted at: 4:00 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT)

From International Reporter Jerrold Kessel

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- In the deadliest attack Hezbollah
guerrillas have launched this year, a roadside bomb
demolished an armored vehicle Sunday morning in south
Lebanon, leaving six Israeli soldiers dead and one wounded.

It was the second bloody blow within days inflicted by
Hezbollah on Israel in its self-styled security zone. Three
other soldiers were killed Thursday night in a similar
attack.

To evade the ambushes, the Israelis often move their men from
outpost to outpost in civilian cars with Lebanese plates.
But the camouflage didn't stop the Iranian-backed guerrillas
this time.

Hezbollah is said to be upgrading both its performance and
its weaponry. "The technological devices of these roadside
bombs are better because this is something they got from the
Iranians," explained Zeev Schiff, an Israel strategic affairs
analyst. "Iranians are involved directly and indirectly in
all this."

More Israeli tanks and heavy guns have been seen moving into
the security zone. Suspected Hezbollah strongholds have
reportedly been pounded, and fire raked the ravines of the
hilly terrain. Two guerrillas were reported killed in a
clash on Saturday, and the war of attrition threatens to
escalate.

An Israeli expert said Syrian President Hafez al-Assad has a
powerful point to make in backing Hezbollah. "This is a very
brutal tactic I would say to signal to Israel that if Israel
wants peace and quiet in Lebanon, the address is Damascus,
the price is the Golan (Heights)," observed Moshe Maoz of
Hebrew University.

In contrast to the recent Israeli-Palestinian peace, talks to
forge an Israeli-Syrian deal involving Israel's withdrawal
from the Golan Heights are badly bogged down. Strenuous
United States efforts to revive the negotiations have been
unsuccessful.

Israel complains Syria is not curbing Hezbollah and army
commanders have been warning of retaliation. There will be
temptation to strike back hard, however risky that may be.

"We have to be careful not to enlarge the battle because this
is exactly what the Hezbollah wants," Schiff said. "If we
shall bomb them then they will use it to shell Israeli
settlements and cities in the Galilee."

Schiff believes the war will continue until there is a peace
between Israel, Lebanon and the Syrians (210K AIFF sound or 210K WAV sound). "We
have to see it as this triangle," he stressed.

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who already has
conferred with his generals, will face intense pressure to
launch an effective military response. Equally, however,
he'll be weighing the impact of his decisions on Syria's
stance at the negotiating table.